Love Hurts aka But I Left a Note
by MissLindaLee
Summary: A missing scene from 'Aperio.' Just how did Jonathan manage to follow through with punishing Linda?


TITLE: Love Hurts aka But I Left a Note  
AUTHOR: Jaxie (aka MLL)  
RATING: PG-13 - Corporal Punishment  
GENRE: Angst/Missing Scene  
NOTES: Okay, this stems from a challenge from my best friend - and I know some people have been wondering, so here it is: a missing scene from Aperio revolving around how Jonathan was able to give his superpowered alien daughter a spanking. There is spanking here (non-sexual, so get your heads out of the gutters, pervs). It's also very emotional, so there's your warning.

* * *

Jonathan felt like he was walking to his own execution. With every step he took down the hall he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his throat tightening. It was as if a simple walk could kill him, and all things considered, that's how it felt for the farmer. He stopped outside his daughter's door and held up a closed hand, intending to knock, but he stopped short of actually knocking. He didn't want to be there, knowing what he had to do, knowing what it would do to her – to him; he had contemplated on the way up the stairs whether he would actually follow through with what he said he would do to her, and he had tried to talk himself out of actually doing it, but he couldn't. His son was right: not doing this to her would only hurt her further, and that was the last thing Jonathan wanted to do. After taking a few deep breaths he softly knocked three times on the closed door.

"Linda?" he said softly. There was no answer. "Linda?" Nothing. Worried that his daughter had somehow managed to slip out of the room undetected – a feat she had already managed to accomplish a few times in the past – or that something had happened to her, he reached for the doorknob and twisted, slowly opening the door and walking in. He took a few steps into the room and stopped short.

Linda was sitting on the floor in the far corner of the room, curled up in as tight a ball as she could possibly get. Her hands were over her head, as if to protect her, and even though he couldn't see her face Jonathan knew the young girl was crying. Most people wouldn't have been able to hear her barely audible sobs, but Jonathan was her father, and his ears were attuned to his daughter in the same way they were for his son: if he needed to, he knew he would have been able to hear their pulses.

Jonathan was sick to his stomach. He knew he was looking through the eyes of Zor-El as he stared at Linda, knowing that was how her birth father must have seen her many times in the past before he would beat her. Anger built up inside of him, churning in his gut, and he wished that the monster was still alive so he could show him what he thought of the Kryptonian's idea of discipline, but he couldn't. Zor-El was dead, rotting at the bottom of Crater Lake, and Jonathan had to settle for that as he slowly walked over and sat down in front of his daughter.

"Please don't hit me," Linda whispered, not looking up.

Jonathan's heart ached. "Linda," he said softly, his voice cracking as he tried not to cry, "I'm not going to hit you."

"You're going to spank me, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Isn't that hitting?"

"No," Jonathan spoke firmly. "There is a big difference between hitting and spanking. Hitting is doing something out of anger; spanking is doing something out of love." Linda didn't say anything. "Linda, why don't we move to the bed, and I'll do what I can to help you understand what's going on." He held out his hand, hoping that his daughter would take it.

Linda slowly looked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She was conflicted, Jonathan could see that, but he was grateful that she slowly reached out and took her hand. Jonathan slowly got to his feet and helped Linda to hers, then he gently guided her over to the bed, where they both sat down.

"Linda," he said softly, "first of all, I want you to understand that I don't really want to do this."

"Then why do it?" Linda asked.

"Because you've given me no choice, sweetie," Jonathan answered. "You've done all these things after we told you not to, and you don't seem to care how much it worried us." Linda opened her mouth, but Jonathan wasn't finished. "And I know you're stronger and faster and can do many more things than I'll ever be able to do, but there is one thing that you seem to have forgotten."

"What is that?" Linda asked.

"You were attacked and nearly killed," Jonathan replied. "Someone put kryptonite around your neck and then tossed you into a river; you nearly drowned, remember?" Linda nodded. "That may not seem that important to you, but it's important to us. And then, you blatantly disobeyed us and could have gotten yourself and Dick into trouble if your attackers saw you."

"But I left a note," Linda said. "I just wanted to help."

"I know," Jonathan replied, "but you can't – not this time. You have to trust us to let us handle this. You're not the adult here, Linda; you don't have the wisdom you need to make good decisions. That's why you've got us to look after you: to guide you and help you learn how to behave." He sighed. "And it doesn't matter that you left a note; you disobeyed us, and you have to be punished for that – and everything else doesn't seem to be working."

Linda stiffened. "You're still gonna spank me?" she whispered.

Jonathan nodded as he felt his throat tighten up. "Yeah, sweetie, I am." He had a tear in his eye. "You know it kills me to have to do this, but I just don't know how to get it through to you any other way. I know you haven't been here long, but we care for you. And if something had happened to you, Linda . . . well, you might as well have shot me through the heart."

Linda felt horrible for hurting her father, especially when she knew he never would have felt that way if he hadn't bothered caring for her in the first place; she let out a defeated sigh, accepting her fate. "How?"

"How what?"

"How are you going to spank me?"

Jonathan took a deep breath, thinking back to the first time he had spanked Clark; he would follow the same procedure, since it had been a hard experience for both father and son. "Well, I'm going to put you over my lap, on your stomach, and I'm going to swat your bottom four times."

"Is it gonna hurt?" Linda asked.

Jonathan had to bite his lip as he nodded. "Yes," he whispered softly. "It will." More than you'll ever know, sweetie, he thought. He put a hand on her shoulder and took her hand. "Come on, Linda." He saw the fear in his daughter's eyes, but she slowly turned to him, and he helped guide her onto her stomach and over his lap.

Jonathan put one hand on the small of her back, just above the waistband of her pants. He shakily raised his other hand, his heart pounding, and he took a deep breath. He braced himself as he brought his hand down, connecting high on her bottom. He was grateful that she didn't physically lash out with any of her powers; all he felt was a slight jerk of her body as he heard a small whimper and some of the objects around the room shuddered – Jonathan knew it was from her telekinesis.

The farmer raised his hand again, and he brought it down again, this time right under the curvature of her bottom, where he knew it was sensitive. He heard her whimper again as she flinched and the objects shuddered. He brought his hand up and down again, connecting twice on the spot where she sat; each time he heard her whimper, felt her flinch, and heard the rattling of the objects.

Jonathan was relieved when it was finally over; he wanted to pull Linda into his arms and tell her how much he loved her and that she was going to be okay, but he couldn't. He knew she wasn't ready quite yet – and he couldn't lift her up anyway: the hand he had used to spank her stung like it was on fire. He wasn't sure if she had felt anything, given how strong she was, but he had a feeling that she had, given the emotional state she was in. As she lay over his lap he rubbed her back gently, not saying anything, for fear of breaking down; he had to be strong for her.

After a few minutes he gently pulled her up and turned her to him, intending to hug her, when he stopped short. A small thread of blood trickled slowly from her bottom lip, and Jonathan knew immediately why: instead of crying out as Clark did when Jonathan spanked him, Linda had bitten her lip every time, making it bleed. The farmer knew his daughter had been conditioned from practically birth to not retaliate or speak out against any punishment that was dealt to her. He knew he had to fix her lip first before dealing with her emotional wounds, so he gently set her down on the bed.

"I'll be right back, honey," he whispered. "I promise." He hurried to the bathroom and got the first aid kit, then he came back and sat beside his daughter, gingerly tending to her bottom lip, dabbing it with a cotton ball soaked in peroxide. Linda hissed softly as it stung. "I know it hurt, sweetie." He gently blew on the wound, like he did for Clark's skinned knees. "Does that feel better?"

Linda shrugged. "I guess," she whispered.

Jonathan nodded and put the kit aside. He edged closer to his daughter and put his arm around her, but she moved away from him, curling in on herself. "Linda, I -"

"Please," Linda replied. "Just leave me alone."

Jonathan felt his heart breaking. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her and tell her she was safe, but he knew if he pushed her she would only distance herself further. He sighed and got to his feet, gathering up the kit. He glanced at his daughter as she curled onto her side, her back away from him. "Honey, if you need me . . . I'll be here for you. Promise." With a heavy heart and heavy footsteps he left the room, closing the door softly behind him. He paused for a few moments when he heard her sobbing softly, then he slowly walked to his bedroom, keeping the door open as he walked over to the window, putting the kit on the bed.

Jonathan stared out into the darkness as he felt tears fall down his face. He felt horrible for what he did, knowing that his daughter was scared of him, that he was no better than Zor-El had been to her. He tried to keep his emotions in check, to stay strong, but he couldn't; the floodgates broke, and he slowly sank to the floor, crying into his hands as he pulled his legs close to him, remembering the first time he had spanked Clark.

It had been just as hard spanking Clark for the first time as it had been with Linda . . . and Clark had reacted the same way to him. Clark had come to understand and trust his father again after a short time of feeling betrayal and anger for being punished, and Jonathan said a silent prayer that Linda would eventually come around and understand why he did what he'd done to her - and that she could learn to trust him again.

THE END


End file.
